She was unaccustomed to the crisp crackling of dry leaves and twigs littering the forest floor. The absense of singing birds made her wary. The young wild Machoke, known as Ochre, felt exposed in this sparse forest, yet her nagging curiousity brought her down from her much safer mountain home to the valley.

Ochre soon arrived at her destination; just down the incline of the hill she was on was a contruction site being occupied by humans and a band of trained Pokemon. Burly Swampert were building up muddy dams in waterways while a legion of Grass types helped drained the water. They were ensuring the land was dry so it would be suitable for humans. Meanwhile, large Onix, Golem, and Rhydon, in collaboration with the humans, were shoving over trees and rocks while tampering the earth flat.

But what interested Ochre most of all were the draft Pokemon, the ones responsible for carrying away toppled over trees and serving building materials to the humans; they were also Machoke. Though unlike their wild cousins, the domestic ones were unaturally muscular, their grey skin had a blue tint, they lacked the short lizard-like tails, and they bore unusual belts on their waists. Every chance she got, Ochre would venture from the mountains and watch these Machoke with fascination and fear. Ochre's mind swirled with questions; How come members of her own species were helping in destroying their natural home? Why were the other Pokemon in on it too? What was the purpose of the odd structures the humans and Pokemon were building?

Most of all, how did the weak looking human creatures gain power over such superior beasts?

Ochre snarled slightly as a suppressed memory from her Machophood resurfaced. At the time Ochre had to leave her clan as a Machop close to puberty and evolution, she had two close comrades who were the same age as her, both male. One was playful and social while the other was distant... his name was Thorn. Thorn was robust and strong, good future leader material, yet he prefered to self-train and explore. The thought of clan life bored him. One day, when Ochre and the one Machop were play wrestling in the tall grass, she caught a scent of an unfamiliar creature. It seemed almost artificial, a stinging smell. The two Machop saw an odd bipedal beast that was similar to them in shape yet had a colorful outer shell which flowed over some parts of the body (now known as clothing), was built much lighter, had fur only on the head, and odd red and white balls on the waist. While Ochre and her companion immediately froze in fear, Thorn boldly charged at the intruder; to him, this was the oppurtunity of a lifetime, to fight a something never before seen. Before Thorn could make contact with the enigma, it swiftly grasped an orb and tossed it at Thorn. To Ochre's horror, he was turned into light and was absorbed inside. However, after the ball rocked violently back and forth several times, Thorn broke back out. The mystery creature said something, then he tossed out another ball, this time releasing a Pokemon; the large purple dinosaurian rabbit, Nidoking. The beast roared and slammed his thick tail on the ground... Thorn was petrified, more from surprise than fear. He quickly regained composure and attempted a karate chop to the Nidoking, yet the clever poison type launched a bombardment of toxic spines from his back. Non of the treacherous quills harmed Thorn yet they formed a sort of cage around him. He was trapped and he was frightened. The anthromorphic creature shouted out another command and Nidoking took a flying leap into the air, causing a great tremor when he landed. The force sent Thorn shooting through the air then crashing painfully on the hard ground. He let out a squealing cry of distress, a rarely heard noise among Machop and their kin... chills ran down Ochre's spine. Suddenly, another two-toned ball was sent spiraling towards Thorn and he was absorbed inside... this time, he remained. Thorn was captured. The biped now known as a human wooted in triumph as he returned the Nidoking and left the grassy clearing.

Ochre eventually learned about the oddly dangerous structures known as Pokeballs from other Machop she met. Crafted from the enchanted fruit known as Apricorn, these spheres had the power to capture any Pokemon, and, unless the Pokemon were strong-willed, it somehow gave the prisoner a feeling of obligation to its new master. To Ochre's surprise, some wild Pokemon longed to be captured so they could partake in the exciting Pokemon battles and test their skills. Ochre understood that not all humans had cruel intentions, yet the concept of being wild one day and forced to a lifetime of battles, serving another, and being away from family the next frightened her. But what frustrated the Machoke most of all was the fact that humans were no more intelligent than most Pokemon and were so weak that even a small Togepi could pose a threat to them, but an object as simple as a Pokeball allowed humans to be in command of nearly everything.

CRASH!

Ochre leapt several feet in the air from surprise and instinctively flopped onto the ground and scrambled into a tight, curled position. Her dull, grey skin and the rock-like bulges of her musular form were perfect camuflouge in the mountains, but she stuck out like a sore thumb in the light woods. A few moments later, Ochre cautiously rose her large, crested head and surveyed the area. A tree was toppled over a distance away, yet it sounded so close. Too close in fact. Ochre knew that each day more and more of the forest was being cleared, and soon, she would be unable to spy on the land developement without being seen. And every day, the humans and trained Pokemon worked closer and closer to the mountains. Ochre feared that she and her clan would have to find a new home, a task much easier said than done.

As Ochre rose to her feet, a light, fluttering movement inside her reminded the Machoke of another aspect to worry about; the life of another. Ochre touched her swollen belly; she was several months pregnant. She knew that she was going to have a difficult time raising her first offspring with the constant thought of this approaching threat aching in the back of her mind. Ochre took one last look at the worker Machoke and other Pokemon willfully slaving away, and she became sad for they were oblivious to the destruction they were causing. Just to please their human trainers. Ochre felt her young make its presence known again, and that day she decided would be the last she ventured into the valley. There was work to be done in the mountains, and preperations for a possible migration had to be done to ensure the safety of the clan and their future children.

the end

Eternal Night

February 10th, 2004, 1:45 AM

Thats i a very well write story. I realy like how you had the story flow. Though the way you ended it keept me thinking what will happen with Ochre and her child. Though if you want to leave the read questioning then you done well in that. Still feels a little un finished though(that just me).